Domestic work is now online, and as such, one of the industries, theyre part of the gig economy. Although the gig economy is considered a gateway to innovation, students for california workers, for Domestic Workers, it has meant that workplace protections that they fought for for decades are no longer. Some offer House Cleaning services. Many Handy Workers do not earn a living wage, absorb all expenses. Providing no recourse to challenge unfair employment issues, such as harassment and Health Safety issues, they lax flexibility and autonomy on the platform, and they not only control the wages they earn, but subjects them to unquestionable surveillance systems. Many of the workers are sitting in this room, and i urge you to please support the resolution in favor of ab5. Chairman thank you. Im going to call a few more names. [names called] chairman next speaker. Good people of this honorable chamber, as i was studying at university of california berkeley, i worked for uber and lyft tas i pursued my education. They are ma are manipulative. This is a job, gentlemen this is a platform that is taking over the entire taxicab industry. An industry in which people were able to make around 20,000 a month if they paid the 500,000 fee to have a medallion. This is a job that people good money to have, and now were about to give it up to Autonomous Cars and this ab5 law may usher uber and life in the lyfts abo usher in these cars in place of all of these workers. About 140,000 operators are in San Francisco alone, and if this bill passes, and uber replaces us all with these driverless cars, that 140,000 people who potentially will be on the streets of our state of california. I want everyone to be treated fairly. I want people to be able to have medical insurance. But if youre making 20,000 a month, you would be able to afford to buy your own medical insurance. Chairman thank you. Next speaker i think there are very few people left in the south light court. There is a line outside, if youre in the south light court, and youre interested in speaking, i dont have anymore cards to call, so i would encourage those folks to come upstairs and get in the line. Next speaker. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] hello, good morning, my name is mase delgado, and im a member. I live in work in San Francisco. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] i am here to support the resolution in favor of ab5. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] as a house cleaner, im concerned about the growth of cleaning companies. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] such as handy, which dispatches workers to clean in different houses through internetbased apps. These cleaners are not allow to negotiate their own salaries. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] they work without Labor Protections and benefits. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] this means that all risks are transferred from the employers to the workers. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] such as taking tax payments, the cost of cleaning products, transportation and without steady pay rates. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] handy is lowering labor standards and is also Encouraging Companies to do the same. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] if handy continues to operate as it does, the impact on the lives of the workers will be devastating. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] that is why i am supporting the resolution presented at the San Francisco board of supervisors. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] that endorses ab5 by dynamics decision means many workers would be recognized as employees. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] and will have access to the minimum wage, overtime, and other benefits. Thank you. Chairman gracias, next speaker. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] hello, good afternoon, my name is hema ascension. I am a Domestic Worker, and im a member. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] i live and work in San Francisco. I am here to support the resolution in favor of ab5. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] all workers deserve protections under labor laws. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] in california, there are over more than 300,000 women, mostly immigrant immigrants. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] . Who work as house cleaners, nannies, and home care workers in private homes. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] nearly two million homes in california depend on Domestic Workers. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] as an immigrant, i would also like to have the opportunity to venture into business work. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] however, there is no flexibility when companies impede us the basic benefits that all workers deserve. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] to obtain a minimum wage, a safety net for when we get injured at work or when we are sick, and the ability to have a real voice at work. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] and the ability to have a real voice at work. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] companies in the 21st century economy must provide each worker, regardless of classification, with a firm path to the middle class. Span. [voice of interpreter] anand a fair chance for theamer. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] regardless of a workers classification, basic protections include a minimum wage, unemployment compensation, and a workplace free of discrimination and intimidation. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] based on my experience, i ask you to support the resolution in support of ab5. Thank you. Chairman gracias. Next speaker. Thank you, supervisors. Quite a moving hearing here. High name is steven hill. Im a long time 25year resident of San Francisco, and also a journalistist, author of seven books, and two books on the gig economy, and the impact on workers, including raw deal how the uber economy and runaway capital are screwing the American Workers. That book came out in 2017, and people said you dont get the gig economy. It is going to be cool. Now youre seeing what has happened. The question now Going Forward is what do we do about it . Weve heard from drivers and Domestic Workers, but there are other types of gig workers out there. There are Companies Like up work and all of these freelancers that are working. The worker classifications are becoming more and more complicated. Weve got to find a way to unify this and move forward. And even if we pass ab5, which is a good first start, but it is only a start, for a lot of the parttime w2 workers right now, they only get the basic form, Social Security, medicare, unemployment, they have no health care, paid vacation, paid sick leave, any of these sorts of things. So even if we pass ab5, it is just the beginning. Where we really need to go is whats called a portable safety net. Other countries are already doing this. Basically what that means is you every worker gets an individual security account. Like some workers in San Francisco have a Social Security account. And every business that hires that worker, that business must contribute into that security account for that worker a prorated amount to the number of hours theyve worked for that business. If they worked 10 hours a week, they would get 25 of a fulltime safety net [buzzer] i just want to apologize. Im going to have to leave for another meeting. But i wanted to thank everyone who has come to speak out at this important hearing, especially the drivers and the Domestic Workers, and reassure you that im very committed to following up on the Important Information provided here to ensure that gig workers, especially in San Francisco, are treated fairly, and ill continue to work with supervisor mandelman and my colleagues on that. So thank you very much. Chairman i look forward to talking with you more, mr. Hill, about the portable protections. Have other cities moved forward with those . Other cities are looking at it. Other states have introduced laws, including washington, new jersey, and new york. It has been tough to get the companies to come to the table to do this sort of thing. I think here in San Francisco, this is where this gig stuff has started. We can do this near locally and not wait for anyone else. And we can set the National Model that then can be scalable to elsewhere. This idea has also been endorsed by president barack obama and also by many other organizations. This would allow workers to work wherever they are, however they work, and accumulate from each business part of the Financial Funding they need to have their safety net. Chairman thank you. Thank you. Chairman next speaker. Really, okay, two minutes . Lets see. I am a 21year resident. I lived only five blocks from not only this chamber, but ubers headquarters on 1455 market. They want to keep us independent contractors which i find hilarious because the one damned thing we cannot do as an independent contractor is set our own rates. They have been cut time and time and time again over the last however many years that these crappy bags of greed companies that the city of San Francisco has enabled to run ram shod. One of the things im devastated is watching these people ask questions to the supervisors over what power you have over these companies that you helped enable as the leaders of this city . Really . Seriously . Are you kidding . Like. You guys vote on your own raises, for christ sake, and theyre cutting our pay. But were an independent contractor because why . Because our schedule is flexible . Give me a break. This city is overrun with homeless people, and one of the ways people become homeless before the 2008 housing crisis, it was medical bills. So as an independent contractor, all of these drivers who are sitting 16plu16plus hours a day, basically helping destroy their own body end up they cant even get unemployment if they companies decide to basically just flush them. And we have no recourse whatsoever. We have zero control. And the people say, why do you keep doing what youre doing . Well, you know what . We have to eat and we have to pay rents in one of the most expensive parts of the entire nation. Please do something. [buzzer] chairman thank you. And thank you, supervisor mar. Next speaker. Hi, everyone. Thank you for calling this hearing and doing such thoughtful research beforehand. That means a lot to me. My name is lauren swigger, and i have lived in San Francisco since 1990, but was fraudulently evicted and pushed out in 2013, and since have had to move twice. Thats when i turned to driving for lyft in 2014, to make a stab at my skyrocketing rent. Ive always driven parttime, so it is easy for me to see how earnings have changed over time, just doing simple calculations. I drive parttime because i have physical limitations that keep me from being able to sit still for more than three or four hours or drive for more than three or four hours, and i also care for my daughter that has some special needs. Might rent has almost tripled since losing that apartment, and yet our actual earnings have plummetted. I want to point out when we talk about wages, were always talking about gross earnings, before our expenses, which are everything. And we dont along with that, we dont have a single worker protection. I know you know what they all are. And like many, you have fought for them. But uber and lyft have deceived us every step of the way. Our work has been going to the bottom. Im a single parent, and i have to accept the fact that i may be in an accident during my shift later today or i may not come home at all. And knowing there would be no sick leave or disability, no recovery compensation, nothing for my daughter is heartbreaking and extremely stressful. In 2017 i needed surgery, and i continued to drive. The surgery would have kept me from being able to drive for six months. [buzzer] chairman thank you. Next speaker. Im a member of the National Domestic workers alliance. Im a bay area nanny, and have been a member of the Domestic Work force providing child care for 19 years. I began using platforms like urban sitter and others to find care jobs. My hope was they would be a way for me to find work with no dependency on agencies. However, i soon realized that finding reliable employment this way has numerous challenges. Gig economy platforms have changed the way Domestic Work is found, mediated, and paid for. Companies like care. Com have created problems in care work and created new ones. These companies have become arbitors of Domestic Work standards. They standardize our wage wages. Working conditions are now shaped by ratings, reviews, access to the platform, and distribution of jobs via algorhythms, which is technology that didnt exist just a few years ago. We must rely on platforms like care. Com, which leads the industry in providing jobs for Domestic Workers. Based on my experiences, i want to urge you to support the resolution in support of ab5. I believe that ab5 is essential to protecting vulnerable workers in the gig economy, and to Keep Companies that have little regard for the wellbeing of their workforce and the states economy accountable. Aside from driving, Domestic Work is the largest work force in 2030 projection. As such, i urge this committee to uphold workers rights and support the resolution for ab5. Chairman thank you. Next speaker. I currently cannot afford to see a dr. To get a prescription for basic, inexpensive Blood Pressure medication without jeopardizing my ability to keep a roof over my childrens heads. Just imagine for a moment how that feels. I ask a San Francisco board of supervisors to use what gravity you have to help bring these Companies Back down to earth. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Next speaker. Hello, thank you for having this hearing. I am a long time corporate accountability campaigner. I drove with uber for the last two years, so i cant understand what it is like from that perspective, but i thank you understand what the issues are. Just a few other points i want to make first that any solution to this issue of the plight of uber drivers cannot be found without also looking at the plight of taxi drivers in the city of San Francisco. They are very much interlinked. Im not very happy that hasnt been brought up today because it is very, very important, i thank you all know. The city and the board of supervisors and the city of San Francisco is looking at this issue. Uber and lift are responsible for this situation that the taxi industry is facing here. The second thing i want to say is we need solutions. Eightyfive is good, but it is necessary but not sufficient. What needs to happen is that in 2013, uber, went through an army of lobbyists and they got themselves to be regulated by the state of california. That needs to be reversed. It needs to be brought back to the city of San Francisco and the municipal transportation corporation. M. T. C. Has separated for example, the rates that they pay taxi drivers today is 2 2. 75 a mile. Do you know how much uber is paid . Seventy cents a mile. That is a quarter of that. I think there is a lot of issues with the city of San Francisco setting living wages through these things. They also have a limit on the number of taxis out there, and this is uber and lift. The problem is, they have overrun our streets. They have taken over our curbs, they are taking over our sidewalks, theyre taking over our roads [indiscernible] thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon. I was a computer engineer and four years ago, i decided to go back to school and because i didnt want to be stuck under student loans, i had to drive uber just like other students. We used to make ends meet by driving 30 to 40 hours a week, but every year, it gets more and more expensive. We take the risk and the blame for fines when we have to wait five minutes to pick up passengers from extremely and possible locations extremely impossible locations. [indiscernible] it is falsely advertised this is a flexible job. For two weeks, they have been pushing drivers to sign up a petition by saying, save california flexibility. We are pushed to drive 70 to 80 hours. I dont see where the flexibility is. We have to work 80 hours a week, but there are some that get paid 50 millions a year. We have more drivers, and make sure that we are replaceable at any time when they want with their self driven cars. Whether we are independent contractors or employees, we are workers and are human beings. As the system is broken, and it is your responsibility to fix it thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon, supervisors. I am a member of guild freelancers, unit of the pacific media workers skilled, cwa 39521 i also chair the guilds legislative and political committee. We are a union of fulltime and freelance journalists, writers, editors, photographers and interpreters, translators, and other communications professionals. We fully support the aim of ab 52 preventing employers from his classifying workers as contractors instead of as employees. I wanted to expand a bit on that collective bargaining issue. Is one that receives very little visibility outside our own lengths of free length freelance and contract workers. We are considered business owners. By trying to bargain collectively with clients, we have been seen as violating federal antitrust law. But the ninth Circuit Court of appeals has looked at it from a little bit of a d